The present invention relates to the field of entertainment devices, and in particular environmental interactive entertainment devices that receive environmental data and respond accordingly. The present invention is useful primarily for providing entertainment in the context of the user's immediate environment and programmable preferences.
Entertainment devices have progressed significantly to include devices that can communicate with their environment by way of preprogrammed speech or other sounds, illuminating lights, or other such actions that can be readily sensed by a user. Such communications are based on simple input by the user, such as by pushing a button that will result in one of a small number of preprogrammed sentences being output by a speaker in the device. Moreover, personal management devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) can incorporate these features. However, both the forms of input and the reactions to those inputs are relatively simplistic. Prior art devices generate sounds, perform acts when buttons are actuated, recognize sounds or voices, use infrared transceivers to communicate with other devices, and use visual sensors to avoid knocking into objects. These devices fail to combine the capabilities of receiving input not only from the environment, but other devices or users, sensors and remote devices or networks, and reacting to that input in a manner that is entertaining to the user while also communicating information to and from remote devices. Further, prior art devices have very limited learning capability, usually limited to voice recognition, and no auto-initiated learning sequences from environmental data, other devices or remote sources, which modify device behavior.
Therefore, a need exists for a method, device, and software program for providing entertainment by way of an interactive device, which receives environmental and communicated data, reacts in a manner aesthetically pleasing to the user while also communicating with remote devices and solicits environmental data responsive to conspicuous acts. A further need exists for such a method, device, and software program that will prioritize the manner in which they provide such reactions and communications so that emergency, harm-causing, or other critical processes will be addressed before ordinary processes.